GA Hopes Youth Helps Team Climb Inter-Ac League Standings

FORT WASHINGTON — Germantown Academy is coming off of a season that saw them go 1-9 in Inter-Ac League play. However, the team was missing three of their key starters for a majority of those contests. Now in the third season under Head Coach Tim Ginter, the Patriots will be relying on their youth to win games.

“We had our struggles at times,” Ginter said. “A lot of younger guys played more innings than we would’ve wanted them to play going into last year. The flip side of that is the younger guys played a lot of innings last year, and now they’re back.”

The Patriots’ roster only features two seniors that will play a majority of the innings. Jack Sullivan ’18 will be playing third base while Michael Reilly ’18 will see time in the infield and outfield. Both will be batting towards the beginning of the lineup.

GA will look to the duo for senior leadership as they combine for five years of varsity experience. Ginter said that the seniors will be pivotal in what the team is trying to do this season.

“We’re hoping to take that 1-9 and get closer to the middle of the pack, if not above the middle of the pack,” Ginter said.

Outside of the seniors, Ginter mentioned pitcher Colten Smith ’19 as a player to watch. The junior headlines a group of juniors and sophomores that will be key contributors this year.

In addition to the team’s youth, Ginter pointed to the camaraderie being a strength. He says that the bond between the players is obvious and that they all pull for each other and want to get better.

“This is my third season,” Ginter said. “So a lot of these players have been with me on varsity since day one. It’s refreshing to see a lot of things we’ve talked about start to click.”

The Patriots are scheduled to play their first game of the season on March 10 at The Shipley School. The following week they play New Hope-Solebury High School on March 13 and then host Central Bucks High School-South on the March 15. During spring break, GA will travel to South Carolina to train and play a few games.

“We go to the Ripken Complex, it’ll be the second straight year,” Ginter said. “We lost four or five games by one run down there [last year], so we came home knowing how precious outs were. That’s how league play is. If you’re a good team in the league, you’re playing close games. You have to be able to perform in those tense situations.”

League play for the Patriots starts up on April 10 when they host William Penn Charter. That game will be the first step in what Ginter hopes will be a year of progression. He says that the team has a lot to prove, but there is no reason for them to believe that they can not go .500 or above in the league.

“I believe that this is the group that puts us back on track to where people start saying ‘don’t forget about Germantown Academy,'” Ginter said. “We like the idea that we’re going to work hard enough and sneak up on some people and be successful. That’s what we do everyday.”